U.N. Critic of Donald Trump Must Be Silenced, Russia Says

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations filed a formal complaint last month demanding that the head of the world body’s human rights organization cease criticizing Donald Trump and other anti-Muslim politicians.

Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, confirmed to the Associated Press on Friday that he had delivered a démarche, a form of diplomatic protest, to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month. The complaint was in response to comments from Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, denouncing the racist rhetoric of Trump and European nationalists, including Geert Wilders, the Dutch populist who has promised to close mosques and ban the Quran if elected.

“Prince Zeid is overstepping his limits from time to time and we’re unhappy about it,” Churkin told the AP.

There was no indication that Trump requested Russia’s intercession on his behalf, or that he was even aware of the comments from the head of the U.N. rights group. As Julia Ioffe explains in Politico, Russia has previously supported inward-looking, nationalist politicians in Europe, seeing them as less likely to be critical of Russian foreign and domestic policies. Hillary Clinton and her supporters have seized upon Trump’s boasts about being praised by Russian President Vladimir Putin as evidence of his naivete in world affairs.

On Friday afternoon, United States intelligence officials accused the Russian government of directing the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s email server, in a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“The recent disclosures of alleged hacked emails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts,” the statement said. “These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.”

An unnamed senior U.N. diplomat told the AP that Churkin specifically “condemned the fact that Zeid mentioned Trump” in a blistering speech about “populists and demagogues in Europe and U.S.” delivered on September 5, and in remarks at a law school in Cleveland in April.

The Jordanian argued in the September speech that Trump, Wilders, and other nationalist politicians — including Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate for president of France, and Nigel Farage, who led the Brexit campaign — echo the xenophobic ideology of the Islamic State militant group. “All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion — living peacefully in isolation, pilots of their fate, free of crime, foreign influence and war,” he said. “A past that most certainly, in reality, did not exist anywhere, ever.”

The prince, who is a member of the Jordanian royal family born to a Swedish mother, also remarked: “I am a Muslim, who is, confusingly to racists, also white-skinned; whose mother is European and father, Arab.”

Prince Zeid first referred to Trump as a threat during an address to the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in April.

“Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture,” the rights chief said. “We have heard hateful slander of foreigners, and multiple candidates declaring their support for extensive and intrusive surveillance of people based on their religious beliefs –vast and discriminatory systems to single out and discriminate against Muslims.”

“We have seen a full-frontal attack — disguised as courageous taboo-busting,” he added, “on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society.”

Top Photo: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein at a news conference in South Korea on June 25, 2015.

Wait! Before you go on about your day, ask yourself: How likely is it that the story you just read would have been produced by a different news outlet if The Intercept hadn’t done it?
Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters weren’t on the beat?
The kind of reporting we do is essential to democracy, but it is not easy, cheap, or profitable. The Intercept is an independent nonprofit news outlet. We don’t have ads, so we depend on our members — 24,000 and counting — to help us hold the powerful to account. Joining is simple and doesn’t need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month. That’s all it takes to support the journalism you rely on.Become a Member

American decency
It looks like the Saudi attack on the funeral in Yemen that killed 83 to 140 people depending on news source and wounded hundreds was carried out using US-made MK-82 bombs. The world needs more of that Jordan, Saudi, American mercy.

Dear Mr Mackey & Gang @ TI
You’ll are great at intercepting the real deal, that’s for damn sure. Yet what you’ll fail to do is put up any kind of opportunities for peace. You just slam, which is great in basketball, but in soccer you’ve got to pass a whole lot more. Maybe TI can pass the public some potential peace plans, ideas, roadmaps, etc…anything?

I feel like we’re in analysis paralysis at this point while we watch a real horror film.

Maybe you should review the definition of the word “journalism.”
While your at it, maybe pass a month in Aleppo?
The Intercept is quote ‘dedicated to producing fearless, adversarial journalism. We believe journalism should bring transparency and accountability to powerful governmental and corporate institutions, and our journalists have the editorial freedom and legal support to pursue this mission.’

Nearly every other outlet gives their opinion, often called an editorial or opinions section. It is obviously up to TI to put out the type of journalism that best supports their mission.

Even if TI doesn’t want to put out an official editorial, they could interview people with specific plans on how to get us forward.

Marginal Advocacy @ Most
Without Snowden & TI(B), many Earthlings are in the dark about several key issues that tears global lies, spies & constitutions to shreds. Furthermore, down here, TIBrasil has highlighted clear hypocrisies, corruption, & conflict of interest in an impeachment process that amounts to a mockery of democracy and a full neoliberal sellout of our resources, rights & regulations.

Shit has hit the fan here already. Temer is like Trump with his all-white-male ministry, yet the world turns a blind eye while he sells us out. Angela Merkel & European Leaders know damn well whats happening down here. Her silence for her Dilma is sad.

PODEMOS (España+Catalunya) & Corbyn’s New Labour have already called this bullshit out while she sits back & acts like nothing just happened. Even the center-left political party of the Italian PM criticized this joke of an impeachment. The 1st female leader of the largest LatAm nation was ousted by a group of rich Brazilians who are backed by tons of corruption & foreign corporations – yet we as world go on as if all is cool!

Nordestino & Narcos star actor Wagner Moura applauded TI(B), and that guy has got a sharp eye for quality. TIB is rockin’ a new era of enlightenment down here, but back to the globe.

Lee Fang is a vampire who sucks dry lies of wall street
And this new Chicago Police piece is beyond badass!!
I proudly promote TI & DN! to be top global news sources, with CounterPunch providing a strong undercurrent of theories that often prove to be true. And my beloved TeleSUR is where my heart melts into América Latina Unida.

I do have my own criticism of TI(B), which refuses to advocate or recognize the possibility & potential of a LatAm Union like that of the EU, which could help bring a balance to this East-West rivalry that spirals down into death and destroys the Middle East. Even Chomsky bragged about how LatAm was one of the few successes in the past decade.

Mujica is a man than can help plan a new world! Montevideo all the way for LatAm while UN in NY can see a new day with the courts at The Hague in Holland refreshed. We need to care less about the past war criminals (they’re technically all war criminals, including Obama) and more about the fight for the future.

Like in Colombia, we need to follow Santos and focus on the future & maybe let go (but not forget) of revenge on past actions. I’ve given up on the baby boomers and believe in my generation – the motherf’n millennials. Give our gen ten years to govern @ UN in NY w/ AJ & Mujica on top to prop up women’s rights & calm down angry alpha males.

Forget Europe’s Guterres and look both South to Uruguay’s Jose Mujica and North to Angelina Jolie too for an all-american tag team to help us stream in a new wave of peace + equality. Mujica is the zen master while AJ is the most respected woman in the world, whether you like her or not. Her personal life matters little but her respected work for refugees means everything. Whether she’s married, divorced or anywhere in between, that is for her to worry about.

AJ can spur excitement like MJ did for basketball, from Palestine to Israel…this needs to be settled ASAP. Netanyahu is simply out of control, not even Obama can tame him. Hillary just bows down him.

AJ can put that alpha male in his place, which is either in one democratic state or inside Israel’s lines of the UN 2State Solution. This is not rocket science, but Elon Musk did just call for the world to explore Mars and this is the perfect time to support a LatAm Space Agency similar to ESA.

This secret election of UN Sec-Gen is an international embarrassment, especially because we’ve yet to appoint a woman to the top after fifty years. This just proves to me, once more, that we need to institutionalize co-gender leadership roles, because women will rarely beat men in a system built largely by males.

Mujica can help calm the seas in the Middle East, which will lower the immigrants to Europe, a region that quickly escalades towards a growing & ugly right-wing racist fascism. This is what happens when hundreds of thousands of immigrants flood into a region. I understand the EU-US Right’s concern on immigration, but they helped to start this Syrian mess & Drug War in LatAm too. If we end the War on Drugs & War on Middle East, then we slow the immigration.

EU also needs to think seriously about cutting a deal with Russia on Ukraine while letting UN decide what happens next in Syria. No more EU-US preconditions on Syria….Z-E-R-O is how it’s spelled!

Merkel needs to look both to the north & south to sort out this issue. Europe’s hands are dirty in Syria, but I applaud & agree with the EU German Call to ban the Internal Combustion Engine by 2030.

RIP OIL 2030 – now this awesome EU Inspiration

If Merkel wants to shine, she can stick EU to a 2030 Renewables Agenda (and make peace w/ Putin) while cooperatively sharing that amazing European Engineering to help boost a new era of clean mobility & sustainable living. If she does that, Mujica Magic & AJ Potion can likely help slow the flow of immigrants to a trickle before EU-US turns uglier. Time is a tickin’

Marginal Advocacy @ Most. Without Snowden & TI(B), many Earthlings are in the dark about several key issues that tears global lies, spies & constitutions to shreds. […] All 4Cylinders on 1UN

Is this David Miranda? I get it, without Snowden and TI there would be no possibility of interstellar space travel nor a cure for cancer.

In all seriousness, you are one of the first posters that I have seen who explicitly ties the actions of Greenwald and Snowden the elites anti-democratic, anti-statist, anti-Western global agenda. Your candor is refreshing once one gets beyond the gag reflex. So you actual UN support of US led and GCC facilitated regime change throughout the Muslim world?

In all seriousness, you are one of the first posters that I have seen who explicitly ties the actions of Greenwald and Snowden to the elite’s anti-democratic, anti-statist, anti-Western global agenda. Your candor is refreshing once one gets beyond the gag reflex. So you are actually down with UN support of US led and GCC facilitated regime change throughout the Muslim world?

More gross distortion from Robert Mackey and the U.S. corporate press. See the real story, which is about the Syrian civil war and the U.S. effort to protect Al Qaeda from Syrian and Russian bombardment in Aleppo. This is on par with previous dishonest Intercept reporting about “Syrian White Hats”, etc.:

High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein said initiatives to resolve the situation in besieged, rebel-held eastern Aleppo should include proposals to limit the use of the veto by the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. . .

“Unfortunately my good friend has been overstepping the limits of his responsibilities quite a bit and this is unfortunate.”

Mackey’s not alone in this; the AP also took the Russian ambassador’s comments about Syria out of context and applied them to the Trump angle:

“Prince Zeid is overstepping his limits from time to time and we’re unhappy about it,” Churkin said Friday. “He criticized a number of heads of state, government. He should stick to his file, which is important enough.” – AP story, which doesn’t mention the Syria angle.

Basically, the American propaganda system is trying to whip up support for a military assault on Syria by NATO forces along the lines of what happened in Libya, to protect the Al Qaeda groups in Aleppo, as part of the Syrian regime change program that the US State Department is so fixated on.

By virtue of the fact that Hussein bin Ali was a direct descendant of Muhammad, he was entitled with an appointment as the Sharif and Emir of Mecca by the Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire in 1908. During World War I, Hussein bin Ali saw that it was politically advantageous to align himself with the British against a backdrop of Ottoman decay. In June 1916, Hussein bin Ali led a British-backed revolt against the Ottomans and won Mecca in the process. Success fueled Hussein bin Ali’s ambition of winning British approval for the formation of an Arab nation and a formal proclamation of an Arab Caliphate of Islam.

Two days after the Turkish Caliphate (Ottoman empire) was abolished by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 3 March 1924, Hussein declared himself Caliph. Hussein bin Ali’s declaration was immediately challenged by Ibn Saud who was the British backed founder and first monarch of Saudi Arabia, which was a British protectorate at the time. Within a year, Ibn Saud captured the holy city of Mecca from Sharif Hussein, ending 700 years of Hashemite rule over the Hashemite kingdom of Hejez. On 8 January 1926, the leading figures in Mecca, Madina and Jeddah proclaimed Ibn Saud the King of Hejaz. Hussein bin Ali was forced into exile.

Hussein bin Ali’s son, Faisal I bin Hussein, had also aligned himself with British interests in the region during World War I. Under the direction of Captain T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), Emir Faisal I bin Hussein led a successful, two-year Arab rebellion against Ottoman rule in what was to become Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. As a pretext to becoming the ruler of Syria, Faisal was compelled by the British to be a signatore to “the 1919 Faisal–Weizmann Agreement for Arab-Jewish Cooperation, in which Faisal conditionally accepted the Balfour Declaration, a wartime document promising British support to the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.” Shortly after proclaimed as the first King of Syria in 1920 however, Faisal was deposed by the French who were competing for influence in the region as well. By 1921 however, Faisal was given rule over the British Mandate of Iraq.

In 1933, Faisal went to London where he expressed his alarm at the Arab-Jewish conflict that was resulting from increased Jewish immigration to Palestine. Citing the erosion of Arab political, social, and economic influence within Palestine, Faisal asked the British to limit Jewish immigration and land purchases. Faisal’s concerns largely fell on deaf ears as a British backed Assyrian campaign against him had already been in the works for some time. Ultimately, King Faisal was poisoned during a medical visit to Switzerland in September of 1933.

By July of 1958, the Iraqi throne had been occupied by Faisal son (King Ghazi; r. 1933 – 39) and Faisal’s grandson and namesake (Faisal II; r. 1939 –1958), who succeeded Ghazi at the age of four. Faisal II’s reliance on Prince Abd al-Ilah and Nuri Said, a notorious Anglophilic political fixer, resulted in a deadly 1958 coup against him. Being the only son of Hussein bin Ali’s third wife, Prince Zeid bin Hussein was in line to succeed in pretense King Faisal II of Iraq upon his assassination. However, Faisal II assassination ended Monarchic rule in Iraq. Fearing for their lives, Prince Zeid bin Hussein and his family retreated to London where they began their lives in exile.

UN high commissioner, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, is the Jordanian born great-grandson of Hussein bin Ali. Born to privilege and prestige, Zeid received the best British and American educations that money could buy. While attending John Hopkins University, Prince Zeid received his commission as an officer in the Jordanian desert police (the successor to the Arab Legion); upon receipt of a Doctorate degree from Christ’s College, Cambridge, Prince Zeid served the remainder of a five year tour which ended in 1994. From that point forward, Prince Zeid has enjoyed a charmed life with the UN where he endeavors to realize his elitist dream of a post-nation state model of global governance.

This is an interesting article essentially accusing Russia of interfering in the US election (again). US intelligence has pinpointed Russian operatives in hacking HRC’s emails and distributing them to WikiLeaks. Edward Snowden confirmed that US intelligence would be able to pinpoint Russia. Russia (Putin) believes that Trump will be far friendlier to Russia than Hillary who will follow more tradition US foreign policy shoring up strained relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Putin has outwardly supported Trump:

“….. “He [Trump] is a very flamboyant man, very talented, no doubt about that,” Putin said. “He is an absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today. He says that he wants to move to another level of relations, to a deeper level of relations with Russia. How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it.”…..” – Vladimir Putin (my insert in brackets)

HRC has supported creating a no fly zone in Syria drawing threats from the Russian military. In addition, Russia senses a potential change in US policy toward Syria by the Obama Administration and has delivered anti-aircraft defensive missile systems to Syria with threats directed at the US to not attack/bomb Syrian positions.

HRC will also be much more likely to call the Russian administration on their illegal military annexation of the Crimea Peninsula, illegally military support for the eastern Ukraine rebels, killing 298 people on a civilian airliner over the Ukraine-Russian border, support for the war criminal, Assad, and committing war crimes in Syria targeting civilian populations, hospitals, clinics and an aid convoy. If anything, HRC could also tighten sanctions against Russia. The Russian government also is leaving a commendable trail of lies to cover-up their crimes.

For your part, you clearly support HRC over Trump and you have highlighted the Russian-Trump connection in a couple of articles. You have supported HRC by attacking the positions of Trump rather than endorse HRC which could be a firing offense at the Intercept.

“……..I think I will just be content with you agreeing that the US is violating international law………”

Doesn’t mean that what the US is doing isn’t right, however. You have to consider the scale of the brutal crack-down on peaceful protesters by the Assad government in assigning who is right and who is wrong in this case.

Crimea has always been part of Russia historically, you idiot. Crimea was part of Russia from 1783, when the Tsarist Empire annexed it a decade after defeating Ottoman forces in the Battle of Kozludzha, until 1954, when the Soviet government transferred Crimea from the Russian Soviet Federation of Socialist Republics (RSFSR) to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (UkrSSR). What’s more, Russia has always had a key navy base there and had been there since before the fall of Communism. What’s even more: the Crimeans voted to join Russia and leave Ukriane by a vast majority after the illegal coup of Ukraine: they didn’t want to be attacked by the same fascist Bandara goon squads that killed 41 pro-Russia supporters in Odessa, not to mention the USA supported attacks on Luhansk, Donetsk,and neighboring areas. Your facile arguments convince nobody. You deliberately, dishonestly portray Russia as a threat when it is clearly the USA/NATO which is encircling Russia (and it was USA who caused the Ukraine coup), and pushing for a confrontation with Russia. It is USA who is fighting a proxy war in Syria against Russia, and arming ISIS jihadists. You piss and moan about Russia rightfully defending itself but willfully turn a blind eye to the countless instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War. Here, courtesy of famous author William Blum is a list (* indicates successful ouster of a government):

“……..Crimea has always been part of Russia historically, you idiot. Crimea was part of Russia from 1783……..until 1954……What’s more, Russia has always had a key navy base there and had been there since before the fall of Communism…..What’s even more: the Crimeans voted to join Russia and leave Ukriane by a vast majority after the illegal coup of Ukraine……”

First of all, what is relevant is that Russia transferred Crimea to Ukraine. What is even more relevant is that by annexing Crimea and supporting a war in eastern Ukraine, Russia violated international law as well as the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances – an agreement Russia signed in 1994. Additionally, Russia held an illegal referendum at the point of a gun without any representation by the legal government of Ukraine. The annexation was rejected at the UN. The Russian government violated the sovereignty of Ukraine by bringing military forces on to Ukrainian soil. The Soviet….er Russian military base is located on Crimea soil leased by the Russian military until 2042 (Kharkiv Pact) and it was under no threat from Ukraine. Putin annexed Crimea because he could.

Second of all, the charge that the US was behind a coup or that the Ukrainians leading the government today are fascists/Nazis is ridiculous and worthy of RT propaganda. The democratically overthrown government was led by a Russian puppet currently residing in Russia. This was a massive intelligence failure on the part of the KGB….er FSB coincident with Ukrainians tiring of Russian domination of Ukraine for decades during and after the collapse of the USSR. There is a reason that so many states under the former Soviet Union decided to join the EU and NATO. They understood that Russia was still a threat and opted for the safety net of NATO and the freedoms enjoyed by EU members.

“……..It is USA who is fighting a proxy war in Syria against Russia, and arming ISIS jihadists……”

Right – while bombing ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria even as we speak. The US did have a hand in arming the opposition to the Syrian government including ISIS and al-Qaeda in the beginning of the war, but has since been bombing the jihadists (unfortunately). Just remember, it was Assad who started the conflict by cracking down brutally on peaceful demonstrators as reported by Amnesty International. It was Assad who used war planes, artillery, tanks and infantry to try to quell the peaceful protests by civilians. Assad is solely responsible for the conflict in Syria.

Your failing is that you only see Russia through a ‘Russia is evil’ lens. You are utterly incapable of being an impartial observer of world events. You don’t look at the facts and then make a conclusion; rather you just cherry pick facts–or make them up–to fit into your ‘Russia is evildoer’ mindset. No matter how you twist yourself into a pretzel on Crimea, it has been Russian since the 1700s. Deal with it. Face reality you schmuck. But really the kicker is your denial of American involvement in the Ukraine coup. RT propaganda? I mean, what a fucking loser you are: go and listen to the Nuland recording. Go watch McCain or Nuland passing out cookies and egging on the protestors. But there is even more factual evidence of American involvement, many sources available for those willing to look. Finally, for you to blame Assad for the war in Syria just shows what a total asshole you are. And an ignorant one at that. Go read up on the Qatar pipeline deal. Go read up on how the CIA hijacked the ‘Arab spring’ in Syria, bringing in the foreign mercenaries to set off the current war there, a war which is not a “civil war” but is a war by all Syrians against American and Saudi funded and armed Sunni mercenaries. A final word: I will never understand trolls like you: why are you here? Why do you troll this site, a site clearly totally against your political viewpoints? It is a sign of a mental imbalance, or deficiency. That is to say, I think you have mental problems. It is not healthy to go to a website which espouses values or perspectives you are totally against–and spend huge amounts of time arguing with those who see things differently than you. That is not unlike me going to Redstate.org and getting into arguments with them. Further, you never listen to the other side, you only blather on with your right-wing talking points which are utterly pathetic and unconvincing.

Oh man, you’re my hero for the day. Just one thought to add: Don’t overlook the possibility that you are dealing with a paid troll. We know for a fact that intelligence agencies and think tanks employ trolls to influence online political discussions.

I like what Zeid said abut Trump and even see some resemblance between European ultra xenophobic nationalism, Trump and ISIS. But really why is this UN ambassador going off about fucked up American political races. Who is he trying to persuade about what? And if he can speak his mind why can’t the Russian ambassador do the same. Is the Russian ambassador really trying to silence free speech or just saying this political grandstanding about a member country’s political race is not what we should be talking about in the UN.
All in all the article seems a worthless bit of Hillary propaganda, making a ludicrously attenuated connection between Trump and Russia. Smells like CIA dogshit but may be honest stupid true believerism in something or other. It definitely does not qualify as journalism. What is happening to this magazine?

Let me explain something that you really should know if you are going to report on matters concerning the UN: the initials stand for “United Nations” and, as that suggests, it is an institution of nation states.

Involvement or interference by the UN and its officials in the internal politics of member states has long been considered inappropriate, especially by members who resent the efforts of the founding Western allies to use the organization as a tool or weapon for achieving their own goals.

Russia and China, having long been the subjects of these attempted bludgeonings, are particularly sensitive to the issues.

This umpteenth lame attempt to demonize Trump by associating him with the Evil Russians™ is as silly as all the preceding ones.

Anyway, in case you’ve been too busy. . . umm. . . researching this piece to read the news, be aware that Trump’s sordid history is currently blowing his campaign to bloody bits, so you and Killary’s Revise the Record crew may soon be able to turn to other pursuits.

I brought up a similar point: what the mean old russky diplomat did was make a diplomat-type stink in a diplomat type way……diplomats do this…..MURIKAN diplomats do this…..the diplomat didn’t call for anyone to be “silenced”, not by civil means, not by violent means……………………………so the headline is melodramatic in the extreme

Hellary Clinton – the genocidal warmongering weapons for donations war criminal – needs to perp another fear campaign upon Americans.WMDRUSSIA DID IT.

Wallstreet crooks told Hellary that American are easy pickings.
Bush told Hellary “fooled them once shame on you, fooled them twice shame on them.”
Nuttinyahu told Hellary that she can lead Americans by the nose.
Bill told Hellary that if anyone opposes her, they are putting their lives at risk.
the f…b…i… told Hellary, “we have the evidence but releasing it would violate our national security”.
the NSA said the same thing.
the CIA agrees with Bill.

DWS told Hellary that if doesnt have a quick answer to something, just say “russia did it”.

and that’s just up to 2005. then again you hillary types seem to have no problem using dirt from that year, so…

i could also mention that the identity politics-loving PRINCE is a diplomatic dilettante from a country that jails people for cartoons and has ISIS training camps but you probably have a premade talking point to excuse that and i’d rather not subject myself to more of your “writing”. tying brexit to ISIS would be hilarious if it wasn’t embarrassing for this entire website.

Russia has no right to interfere with the UN interfering in US elections. Basically, any foreigner who is pro-Hillary should be able to interfere and any foreigner who might be pro-Trump must not interfere!

Mr Mackey
I agree with Zeid’s warnings, but there is a real question about whether someone in his UN position should be commenting on political campaigns. If he criticizes The Donald, then to be consistent, must he also criticize Clinton, like her support for you-know-who in the Middle East of running essentially an apartheid?

Anyways, all I’m saying is that I understand Russia’s concerns, however I completely agree with Zeid too. It’s a tough position he’s in, that’s for sure.

Can someone please report about Russia agreeing to the UN’s call to escort Al-Nusra out of Aleppo, which then could potentially make way for a new partnership without al-Queda affiliated rebels?

I’m sickly tired of watching Syrian chaos. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one on this third planet from the sun that wants to see a real deal sealed between the US-Saudi Rebels & Iran-Russian Assad?

I’m not for-or-against these so-called ‘Western White Helmets of Netflix’….as I’m sure they’re going to make great cinema, just like Bahia did on Narcos. However, Aleppo also has rebel groups like al-Queda affiliate ‘Al-Nusra’ that are hard to distinguish if they’re ‘somewhat intertwined’ with the local resistance. Therefore, I also understand Iran & Russia’s concerns that there’s a real probability of Libya-like aftermath of chaos in Aleppo if Syrian forces disappear.

I do not believe that Rouhani & Putin enjoy seeing this bloodbath in Aleppo. Maybe I’m wrong, but they just don’t seem like men who want continued bloodshed in Syria. However, they’re not willing to simply chance over Syria to the West-backed gulf states either.

Libya is a good case example of a stable state turned into a lawless mess that few can call a success. The West rarely learns from past mistakes, and in some ways, seems only to get dumber by the decade.

This Russian Truce is truly huge news, yet few outlets around the world are covering it. I sincerely question how much of the media wants peace, as war helps easily fill in the lines of articles.

“In the first place, those who don’t leave with ‘Nusra’ should clearly separate themselves [from it], on paper, officially sign such a commitment,” Lavrov said.

“Maybe then the government law enforcers and this armed opposition will be able to form some kind of joint law-and-order bodies to ensure normal life, so that people would feel safe,” he continued.

Postscript to the Public of a trans-African banking system gone wrong
Counterpunch is hit-or-miss, but sometimes they hit jackpot!
Can one confirm if article is legit through-and-thru?
And if not, what parts aren’t?

Vice also did a piece related to certain parts, originally from Mediapart
“For us, it started in the spring of 2011, when we got hold of thousands of documents — and I mean thousands — from the archive of a businessman and arms dealer called Ziad Takieddine,” Arfi said.

Takieddine is a French-Lebanese businessman who specialized in major international arms contracts. Much to the delight of French journalists, Takieddine is also George Clooney’s wife’s uncle.

Arfi described Takieddine as a businessman leaving behind numerous traces of unofficial dealings between France and Libya.

Mediapart’s subsequent reporting detailed the business, military and diplomatic relations between France and Libya. The story was largely ignored by other French news outlets until April 2012, when the site published an official Libyan document that detailed a plan for Qaddafi to fund Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign.

The disputed document is a letter dated December 10, 2006, and written by Moussa Koussa, a former member of Qaddafi’s inner circle, who at the time headed the Libyan intelligence agency. The note describes Gaddafi’s instruction to his chief of staff to finance Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign to the tune of 50 million euros.

Doubts about the authenticity of the document boiled down to one question: Did the signature on the letter really belong to Koussa?

After a lengthy investigation, Koussa was finally brought in for questioning, and on November 6, 2014, three expert graphologists confirmed that his signature on the document was legitimate.

Why you reading so much into it?
Post-Soviet history shows that the Russians mean what they say In foreign policy. What he said is plainly true in this case.
The UN HCHR should only be commenting on words and actions by current or past governments, not candidates for office, which is purely speculative and does interfere in internal national politics.

When Prince Zeid publicly criticized Mr. Trump’s human rights record last month, I knew the election was over. The US public holds the U.N. in high esteem, and the slightest criticism by a U.N. official, especially a Prince, represents a death knell to any politician’s aspirations to attain high office.

I’m pleased Russia stepped forward to try and contain the damage, but it is too little, too late. One can argue how the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights earned such a wide public following in the US. But for whatever reason, they have decided to simply follow Prince Zeid’s lead. Not even the Russians will be able to change this.